UCLA linebacker Reggie Carter, left, tries to bring down Temple running back Bernard Pierce during the second quarter of the EagleBank Bowl NCAA college football game on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

UCLA tight end Logan Paulsen (86) runs with the ball against Temple safety Dominique Harris (6) during the first quarter of the EagleBank Bowl NCAA college football game on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2009, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

WASHINGTON -- UCLA's defense has been the driving force behind the Bruins' success during the regular season, so why should a bowl game be any different?

The Bruins shutout Temple in the second half, holding the Owls to 41 yards of offense, on their way to a 30-21 victory over Temple in the EagleBank Bowl on Tuesday night at RFK Stadium.

Akeem Ayers put the Bruins in front for the first time in the contest when he intercepted a Vaughn Charlton pass and returned it 2 yards for a fourth-quarter touchdown.

The interception and touchdown resulted in Ayers being selected as the game's Most Valuable Player but he was just one part of what turned out to be another brilliant night for the UCLA defense.

"We just went in the locker room at halftime and cleaned up the mistakes that we were making," Ayers said of the Bruins' dominating second half. "There were a lot of mistakes in the first half with people not in the gaps. We just wanted to come back in and have everyone do what they were supposed to do."

That wasn't the only problem for the Bruins. The temperature at kickoff was 31 degrees with a wind chill of 19. One end of the field had frozen over, making things slippery.

The ice, along with the previously mentioned deficiencies in the first half, allowed the Owls (9-4) to build a 21-10 halftime lead. The Owls rolled up 241 yards of offense in the first half while taking that early lead.

Carlton hit tight end Steve Maneri for a 26-yard touchdown pass to give the Owls a 7-0 advantage in the first quarter, but the Bruins bounced back later in the quarter when Kevin Prince threw a 46-yard scoring pass to Nelson Rosario.

The one-play drive had been set up by Terrence Austin, who gave the Bruins the ball at the 46, after a 47-yard punt return.

Freshman running back Bernard Pierce gave the Owls a 14-7 lead with an 11-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter, and the Owls were able to add to their lead after Marquise Liverpool intercepted a Prince pass. A facemask penalty after the interception gave Temple a first down at the UCLA 15, and Matt Brown scored on a 2-yard run with 1:25 remaining in the half.

Pierce's touchdown was his 16th of the season, breaking the single-season record at Temple. He injured his shoulder and left the game during the closing minutes of the first half.

The Bruins got into kicker Kai Forbath's range with one second remaining in the first half, and Forbath took advantage of it with a 40-yard field goal.

The Bruins closed the gap to 21-17 on their first drive of the second half, ending with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Prince to Austin.

Temple's next drive ended when Brown was stopped on fourth-and-1 at the UCLA 9.

"The turning points of the game, in my eyes, were the first series' on both sides of the ball in the third quarter," UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel said.

Temple's next drive, which was prolonged by a roughing the kicker penalty, ended with a Rahim Moore interception. Of Temple's six possessions in the second half, two ended with interceptions, two ended with punts, one ended on downs and the other with a UCLA safety.

"There were a couple of plays in the first half where a couple of our DBs slipped," said Bruins' defensive coordinator Chuck Bullough. "We didn't want to give them a cheap one in terms of our man-to-man coverage. We did more man-blitzes and they worked.

"I think the guys just got used to the playing surface. They got their feet underneath them and then we went for more pressure."

Forbath got the Bruins to within one point with a 42-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, and Ayers put UCLA in front with his second interception-and-touchdown of the season (his first came against Oregon).

The Bruins' final points were scored on a safety when Temple snapped the ball out of the end zone while trying to punt.

Prince re-injured his right shoulder late in the contest, allowing senior quarterback Kevin Craft to get some playing time. Craft had the offense on the move late in the game when Neuheisel opted to run the clock out.

The Bruins finished at 7-6, their first winning record since the 2006 season.

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